This invention relates to storage compartments for storing vehicle jacks and related equipment in motor vehicles.
In vehicles not having trunks, the storage of jacks and related equipment becomes a problem. The jacks and related equipment bounce around, get separated, get stepped on and damaged, roll into passengers and other items in the vehicle, and parts get lost, etc. This is especially true in vehicles such as "vans", motor homes, campers, pick-up trucks, etc.
It is an object of this invention to provide a compartment to house this jack equipment which compartment holds the equipment out of the way, yet easily accessible and in an eye pleasing manner.
It is a further object of this invention to mount a jack equipment storage compartment in a vehicle in a position between complementary exterior wall supporting braces so as to secure the compartment and to utilize what would otherwise be wasted space. Such an installation limits the amount of intrusion the jack compartment makes into the usable space of the vehicle.
In "vans", camper vehicles, recreational vehicles and other vehicles having rear doors, the storage compartment can be mounted above the rear tire well. In this manner, the compartment will be located adjacent the rear of the vehicle so that, upon opening of the rear doors of the vehicle, the comparment can be easily accessed by a person standing on the ground without entry into the vehicle itself. Alternatively, if the vehicle has a side door entrance, the comparment can be located over the rear tire well and extend forwardly to the side door area so as to be easily accessible to one standing on the ground by the side door. In such locations, the jack equipment storage container would have an angled bottom surface portion configured to fit around the tire well and to rest thereon as well as flat bottom portion to rest on the vehicle floor. In that manner, the heaviest portion of the weight of the jack storage compartment is mainly supported by the vehicle floor structure. To that end the heavy portions of the jacking equipment would be located above the flat bottom portion of the storage compartment so as to minimize the weight on the wheel well cover.
Another alternative would be to place the jack equipment storage compartment in the door itself. In "vans", camper vehicles, recreational vehicles and other similar type vehicles, the location could alternatively be in either the rear door or a side door.
It should be noted that "vans", camper vehicles and recreational vehicles are quite often purchased with an unfinished interior which makes for an easy installation of the jack equipment compartment between structural frame members.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a jack equipment compartment which is securely attached to a motor vehicle and easily accessible from the outside.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a jack carrier compartment of minimized area and which securely holds each of the tools by means of clamping means so that the compartment takes up minimum room and so that the tools do not bang together as the vehicle moves along the road. In this manner, noise from the banging together of the tools is eliminated and distortion, bending or damaging of the tools is avoided.
Additionally, the interior of the jack carrier compartment can be configured in different configurations to provide for different types of jacks. Disclosed in FIG. 2 of the drawings is a compartment for a bottle type lifting piston jack which has an enlarged portion for the piston mechanism and a shallow portion for the remaining equipment. Similar types of configurations can be utilized for tri-pod jacks or for bumper jacks. What is desired is to have the compartment as small and narrow as possible so as to take up as little room as possible, while at the same time being easily accessible and providing a separate place for securing each jack element.
In order to improve the appearance of the compartment, a cover is provided to hide the jack elements from view. The cover can be plain or decorated. Additionally, each of the jack elements should be fixedly secured in the compartment by clamps, buckles, belts, hooks or "VELCRO" hook and pile type fasteners to keep the jack parts from banging together. Additionally, to insure that the elements stored in the compartment are firmly secured, the back wall of the compartment can have dished or recessed portions corresponding in configuration to the jack elements and accessories to be held therein.
Aside from essential jack elements, the compartment can be wired to the vehicle electrical system to provide for a source of power to run a light or tire air pump. In the latter situations, the compartment should contain fasteners for securing a light or tire pump in a fixed location in the compartment.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanyng drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, plural embodiments in accordance with the present invention, and wherein: